Hot Topics:

Obamacare's real impact, and why it shouldn't be repealed

By Niki Tsongas

Updated:
01/25/2017 08:51:58 AM EST

When President Barack Obama entered the White House, America was enduring the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, with the entire financial system on the brink of collapse. Contributing to the staggering slate of national challenges at the time was America's health care system, which was failing families across the country.

Reforming the health care system to bring costs down, make health care more affordable, improve the quality of care, and expand coverage to the millions who were uninsured was always going to be a monumental task, but after a sustained effort, President Obama and Congress made essential reforms to our health care system by enacting the Affordable Care Act.

And the results are undeniable: the growth of health care costs has slowed and 20 million previously uninsured Americans now have health care coverage.

Those 20 million people aren't the only ones who benefitted. Young people can remain on a parent's health insurance plan until the age of 26, preventative care is now covered, lifetime coverage caps are eliminated, women cannot be charged more than men, and individuals cannot be denied coverage because of preexisting conditions. The solvency of the Medicare Trust Fund has been extended.

But to really understand the impact of the ACA, you need to hear from the individuals who have come to rely on it.

Advertisement

As the debate in Washington focused on what the incoming president and the Republican Congress have planned for the ACA, I turned to my constituents to hear how the milestone health care law affects them. What I heard were some emotional stories and heartfelt pleas to keep all or some of the ACA intact.

One woman from Andover told the story of her son, a professional opera singer, who last year experienced a vocal hemorrhage while performing at an international venue. Her son was forced to stop singing. But thanks to his medical coverage made available by the ACA, he obtained world-class treatment from voice specialists at Mass. General Hospital, who helped him recover his singing voice and get his career back on track.

Another woman from Concord told the story of how the ACA made her career -- and life -- change possible. After 20 years of working for a local tech company, she left the innovation sector and enrolled at Andover-Newton Theology school and recently graduated with a Master of Divinity degree. She was able to pursue this calling because she was able to afford health insurance coverage under the ACA. With the ACA in jeopardy, however, she fears having to give up ministry and return to corporate America just for the health insurance.

Without a replacement, at least 18 million people could lose health insurance in the first year, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. That number would grow to 32 million within a decade.

Here in the commonwealth, 73,000 people who have gained coverage through the ACA could lose it. About 999,000 individuals in the state who have pre-existing conditions are at risk of having their coverage taken away or significantly changed. Massachusetts is also at risk of losing $1.86 billion in federal Medicaid funding, which is used to help our states' most vulnerable citizens. Plus, eliminating Medicaid expansion would rip coverage away from an estimated 1.6 million newly insured individuals with substance abuse disorders, as stated in the Health Affairs Journal. As a state hit hard by the opioid epidemic, this would be a major setback to Massachusetts' efforts to address this crisis.

And in a state where the health care industry itself is a vital part of our economy -- contributing almost $20 billion to our state economy and employing one of every 10 Massachusetts workers -- repealing the ACA would put thousands of workers at risk.

Simply tossing aside the ACA is unwise and irresponsible.

That sentiment was made clear time and again Jan. 15 in Boston, as my colleagues in the Massachusetts congressional delegation and I held a rally to discuss the harmful impact of the Republican ACA repeal. More than 6,000 people showed up.

The GOP needs to hear from these American families, and we will do everything in our power to ensure their voices are heard.

As one resident said: "The ACA needs improvement to control costs but repealing the entire thing is just vindictive and will hurt many, many people who rely on it."

Welcome to your discussion forum: Sign in with a Disqus account or your social networking account for your comment to be posted immediately, provided it meets the guidelines. (READ HOW.)
Comments made here are the sole responsibility of the person posting them; these comments do not reflect the opinion of The Sentinel and Enterprise. So keep it civil.